Gardening season is officially here in Northwest Arkansas! April and May are our prime months for planting, so it's time to get started. But what can you plant now? There are lots of things you and your family can start growing in the coming weeks. We’ve put together some basic guidelines for when to plant some of your favorite vegetables. If you started seeds indoors this year, it's time to start hardening them off for transplanting into your garden beds. Let's start with how to harden them off safely.
Your seedlings, whether you started them yourself, or bought them from the garden center, have been grown in a relatively protected environment. Inside your home, the light, temperatures, and moisture levels are pretty consistent. Our windows cut sunlight a surprising amount, so shoving your plants right out into it is likely to cause them to burn. Since the weather outside is not as predictable, your baby plants will need an adjustment period to acclimatize to the great outdoors.Find a spot where your seedlings can be outside, but shaded and protected from strong wind. About ten days before you’re ready to plant them outside, start the hardening off process. On the first day, set them in this sheltered location for one hour in the mid-afternoon, then bring them back inside. Each day, add an hour and move them a bit so that they get a little bit more sun. By the time you hit ten days, you should be able to leave them out in full sunlight for most of the day and overnight, as long as it's not freezing. Now you’re ready to put your strengthened seedlings into the ground.
Early April still carries some risk of less than perfect weather here in Northwest Arkansas. You want to start hardening off your plants, so you can still protect them in case of overnight freezes before they get planted out. Here’s what you can start to transplant outside soon:
Swiss Chard
Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Broccoli
Kale
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Celery
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Pumpkins
Squashes (Zucchini)
Sweet Potatoes
There are also lots of seeds you can plant directly into your garden now. This is the prime time for sowing seeds. Almost everything can be planted directly into the soil over the next few weeks. There are a few things that should have been started earlier, like carrots, radishes, and peas, since they need cool soil for germination. However, you can still try planting them now and see what happens!
Beets
Carrots
Turnips
Potatoes
Onions
Beans
Okra
Parsnips
Corn
Spinach
Whatever method of gardening you choose, whether it's no-dig or traditional tilled, now is the ideal time to get started. Whatever you might need, from tools to plants to soil amendments to seed, we can help you out. Give any of our locations a call ahead or order online, and we can have your items ready for curbside pickup or local delivery.
